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Dawn Whitmire has written an excellent novel about the devastating impact of a child's death on the parents' marriage. In With Love from Sam, Karyn and Jace Morgan confront the reality of the loss of their two-year-old son, Sam. Karyn was driving Sam to their friends’ house that fateful night. Sam managed to unbuckle himself from his car seat, and in her distraction, Karyn drove off the side of a mountain. Even though she tried to protect him with her body, Sam was killed.
Jace and Karyn have been married for five years, but everything is falling apart. Karyn, a teacher, has to cope with being around children all the time, and spends time at Sam’s grave every day. Jace has begun to drink heavily, trying to forget. During one of his binges, he tells Karyn that if she had been driving more carefully, Sam would be alive. For Karyn, this is the final straw. She tells Jace she wants a separation, and Jace moves out.
Jace is the town doctor, and he has to deal with the gossips at the café, while feeling as though his heart has been torn from his chest. Jace loves Karyn with all his heart, and feels that Karyn has pulled away from him. He doesn’t want the marriage to end, but doesn’t know how to repair what has gone wrong.
Karyn’s best friend, Sara is married to Jace’s best friend, Ben. Sara and Ben do what they can to bring Karyn and Jace back together. But it is the ghost of Karyn’s Gran who manages to get through Karyn’s fears and grief. Jace is a man of science and worries that Karyn is hallucinating. And having the town gossips talk about Karyn conducting séances isn’t helping.
I can enthusiastically recommend reading With Love from Sam. It is heartwarming, made me cry and laugh, and the depth of the characters and reality of their experiences left me thinking of them long after the book was finished. I look forward to reading more from this talented author.
Reviewed by Nancy Riggins-Hume
for The Road to Romance
September 3, 2004
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